Baxter International Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.01 (NYSE:BAX)

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of 0.01 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Thursday, October 1st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th.

Baxter International has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years. Baxter International has a dividend payout ratio of 1.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Baxter International to earn $1.96 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 2.0%.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of BAX stock opened at $26.65 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $21.20 and its 200 day moving average is $19.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.51, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62. Baxter International has a 12 month low of $15.73 and a 12 month high of $30.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.70% and a positive return on equity of 16.15%. Baxter International’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BAX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore lowered their target price on shares of Baxter International from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Baxter International presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $22.09.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.